Shields-Hammer Set For April 13

After their initial fight was postponed due to injury, Christina Hammer will make her return to the ring on April 13th, as she will face fellow middleweight champion Claressa Shields in a highly anticipated unification fight.

The card, set for their 2018 fight’s first location of Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, will play host for a Showtime Boxing card.

The winner of the April 13th fight will join Terrence Crawford, Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins, Oleksandr Usyk and women’s welterweight Cecilia Braekhus as the only fighters to have unified all four major world titles in any weight class.

“I always seek the biggest challenges and set the highest goals. I will be ready like never before and will defeat Christina Hammer on April 13,” said Shields, an Olympic gold medalist.

“Nothing will stop me from becoming undisputed champion and continuing my journey to carry women’s boxing to never-before-seen heights. I want to be the greatest of all time and change the game forever for all women in sports, and April 13 is an important step on that road to history.”

“I have waited a long time for this moment,” said Hammer. “I am bigger, stronger and more experienced than Claressa Shields. I am undefeated and have been a champion for over eight years. I can’t wait to show the world that I am the best and undisputed middleweight champion of the world.”

“The biggest women’s fight of all time is set to take place on April 13 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City,” said promoter Dmitriy Salita. “Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer, both champions, both in their prime, are not only taking on the biggest challenge in their respective careers by meeting each other in the ring, but are breaking barriers for boxing and for women in sports. April 13 is destined to be an electric and historic night of boxing live on SHOWTIME.”

Shields gained the IBF and WBA titles in June, defeating Hanna Gabriels in Detroit, and picked up the WBC title after Hammer would need to step aside due to a medical issues when she defeated Hannah Rankin in November. Shields successfully defended all three titles in December against Femke Hermans.

Hammer would pull out of the initial fight in November due to an undisclosed medical issue, only a few short months after making her United States debut on the same card as Shields on June 22nd. Hammer would return to action on February 9th, winning via knockout in a non-title warm-up in Germany.